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Abstract: Skeletal muscle is a biological actuator. Understanding how muscle functions has applications in the fields of robotics and prosthetics. In my work, I characterized the viscoelastic properties of the silver lamprey (Ichthyomyzon unicuspis) body such as stiffness and damping, as a function of the timing of muscle activity. I subjected the lamprey to sinusoidal bending, of different amplit... read moreudes, while electrically stimulating muscles at different phases of the tailbeat cycle. Given the intrinsic properties of skeletal muscle, such as the force-length and force-velocity relationships, I expect that the stimulation phase will have a significant impact on whole-body response. The lamprey was modelled as an elliptical beam and examined for deviations from the passive state, indicative of the muscle's response to stimulation. I measured forces and torques using a six-axis transducer which I transformed into body torque. Results indicate that stimulation phase has a significant effect on muscle properties during sinusoidal bending.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2018.
Submitted to the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisors: Eric Tytell, and Jason Rife.
Committee: Igor Sokolov.
Keywords: Mechanical engineering, Biomechanics, and Biology.read less
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